Fastener for hinged tail gates



July 14, 1953 J R. MORGAN FASTENER FOR HINGED TAIL GATES Filed June 23, 1952 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented July 14, 1953 2,645,520. 'FASTENEB; FOR HINQED .TA IL GATES d J R.lldorgan', Barryton,Mich. rapplicationlluneig, i952, siiai it... 295,077

2 Claims? Cl. 296 517) This invention relates to fastening devices for the hinged or pivoted tail gates of ers and vehicles in general.

One of the prime objects of the instant invention is to design a simple fastening mechanism' trucks, trailf by means of which hinged tail gates, may be f swung and held inclosed, locked position, with out fear of accidental opening, and which can' also be readily and quickly manipulated to permit the gate to be swung down and held in horizontal open position, even when heavy loads are placed thereon.

Another object is'to design a simple and economical mechanism by means of which the tail gate can be swung from open to closed position without the necessity of grasping the linkage on each side of the gate to swing it out of longitudinally aligned dead center relationship, which can be locked in closed position'by merely swinging the mechanism down to depending position.

A further object is to provide a fastening device composed of few parts, all of which can be inexpensively manufactured and assembled, and which firmly holds the tail gate in adjusted position.

With the above and other objects in view, the

present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion, and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a rear elevational view of a conventional truck body having a tail gate equipped with the fastening device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing the tail gate in open position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, the'broken lines showing the tail gate in open position, the solid lines showing it swung up.

Fig. 4 is also a view similar to Fig. 2, the broken lines showing the linkage swung up to close the gate, the solid lines showing the linkage swung down to locked position.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view showing the tail gate swung up, with a resilient clip for holding the linkage against rattle etc.

Referring now more particularly to the draw ing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the letter B generally indicates the frame of a conventional truck or body having a tail gate T hingedly or pivotally connected thereto as at 1 so that it may be readily swungfrom open to closed position and vice versa.

Angularl y shaped hinge-brackets 8 are secured to'the endsof the side walls of the body B by means of screws or bolts 9 or the like, the free end Iii ofsaidbracket projecting outwardly as showirand a link i i i'spivotally connected thereto at a'point spacedfrom the one end thereof by means of bolts i2, the upper end of the link being cutaway as at I3, with the tip end turned at right angles tothe main body as at M, and for a purpose. to be presently described. It will, of course, be understood that the linkage on both ends of the gate is identical, and a description of but one will sufiice for both.

The opposite end of the link H is split similar to the section M as at 15, and one end of a link I6 is pivotally connected to the link H at a pointintermediate its length by means of the pin H, the lower end of the link [6 being pivotally connected at a point spaced from its lower end to the projecting arm [8 of a bracket 59 by means of hinge pin 2!], said bracket being secured to the face of the tail gate T by means of screws 2| or the like, the lower end of the link being cut away as at 22 and is turned as at 23 as shown, these cut away sections l3 and 22 per mitting the links l and E5 to be swung to parallel relation with each other when the tail gate is swung to closed position, all as shown in broken lines in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawing.

I wish to direct particular attention to the fact that when the tail gate is swung open, the links I I and 15 are not in true longitudinal alignment, the turned end iii of the link l6 engaging the edge of the link ll, so that when it is desired to close the gate, it is merely necessary to grasp the gate and swing it upwardly, and this is possible because the links H and 16 are not in direct alignment; they are held at an angle with relation to each other and prevented from reaching the dead center position by reason of the end E5 of the link It engaging the edge of link II as above described.

When the gate is in its raised position, the links I I and I 6 will be in true face-to-face parallel relation, the cut away sections I3 and 22 of the links H and IB accommodating the turned tips I4 and 23, so that when the gate is in closed or raised position, the hinge pins 12 and 20 will be in direct horizontal alignment with the links in raised position as clearly shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 of the drawing, and by swinging the links downwardly as indicated in solid lines in the same figure, the tail gate will be securely locked until the links are again swung up to permit the gate to be swung down. In this locked position, the gate is prevented from swinging down by the turned end l3 of the link H which prevents rearward movement of the link I6. When the links ll and I6 are swung up to the vertical position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the link Isis of course free to pivot.

' In Fig. 5'o'f the drawing I have shown means to prevent rattling and/or swinging movement of the links when in locked position, said meanscomprising a resilient U-shaped-bracket 25 .se

cured to the body by means of screws or the like (not shown) the end of the link I l being'frictionally and releasably secured, in said bracket. However, use of this bracket is at the option of the manufacturer. 7

' From the foregoing description, it will be clearly obviousthat I have perfected a very simple, practical and economical fastening means.

for hinged tail gates for vehicles in general.

What I claim is: l. The combination with a vehicle body having a hinged tail gate, of a locking means therefor comprising a link having an end pivotally connected to said vehicle body adjacent the upper end of said tail gate, a second link having an end section pivotally connectedto said tail gate ata point in horizontal alignment with the tion thereof being turned inwardly to engage the.

inwardly bent portion of the second link limit pivotal movement of said second link when said tail gate is in closed position and said links are in parallel relationship and have been swung down to locked position.

2. The combination with a vehicle body having a hinged tail gate, of a locking linkage means therefor, comprising a bracket mounted on the vehicle body adjacent the upper end of said tail gate; a second-bracket mounted on said tail gate in horizontal alignment with said first-mentioned bracket when said tail gate is in closed position,

an outer link having an end pivotally connected to saidfirstbracket, an inner link having one end pivotally connected to said second bracket and its opposite end pivotally connected to said outer link interjacent the ends thereof, the

bracket connected end of said inner link extending; beyond the point of connection and being formed with a cut-out therein, the connected end-of said outer link extending beyond the point .of connection andbeing formed with an inwardly bent, reduced portion accommodated in said'cut-out when said links are in parallel re- 1-1ation, the reduced portion of said outer link limiting rearward movement of said inner link when-said tailgate is in closed position and said parallelly disposed links have been swung down to locked position, and a resilient clip means adjacent the loweredge of said tail gate to frictionally hold the links in locked position.

JR. MORGAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,352,711 Waters Sept. 14, 1920 2,226,824 Larson Dec. 31, 1940 2,257,530 Orscheln Sept. 30, 1941 2,364,648 Olson Dec. 12, 1944 

